Metal threading apparatus



May 10, 1938. E. J. PROTIN METAL THREADING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 19368 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 10, 1938. E. J. PROTIN METAL THREADYING APPARATUSFiled Oct. 14, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 6 INVENTOR W WW May 10,. 1938. E.J. PROTIN METAL THREADING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 1936 B Sheets-Sheet}6 INV?OIRW; WLW

May 10, 1938. E. J. PROTIN 2,116,639

METAL THREADINQ APPARATUS Filed Oct; 14, 1 936 8 SheetsSheet 4 May 10,1938. J. PRoTlN METAL THREADING APPARATUS Fi1ed Oct. 14, 1936 8Sheets-Sheet 5 lym'ola I.

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I V METAL THREADING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 1956 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Nun-mQ l l l 74 120 120\ A INVENTOR 123 data/mi 6W May '10, 1938. E, JPRJQTIN 2,116,639

METAL THREADING APPARATUS M; Y 1 Wm May 10, 1938.

E. .1. 'PROTIN METAL THREADING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 1936 8Sheets-Shet a INVEN;R%

Patented May 10, 1938 r v UNITED STATES PATENT O'FFICET 2,116,639 METALTHREADING APPARATUS Edward J. Protin, Charleroi, Pa., assignor toPittsburgh Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of PennsylvaniaApplication October 14, 1936, Serial No. 105,539, 4 Claims, (Cl. 16-105)or the like in an externally gripping chuck, rela- V tive to threadingtools.

Another object of my invention is to provide in a chuck apparatus whichis movable toward threading dies and which has a range of rapidtraveling movement and a range of slower advancing movement, means forautomatically stopping the rapid travel of the chuck when it reachesapredetermined position with relation to the-threading device.

A further object of my invention is to pro vide in a chuck carriage ofthe character referred to, mechanism for mechanically advancing thechuck apparatus, and mechanism for manually advancing the same, incombination with means for automatically disconnecting the manualadvancing means when the mechanically actuated advancing means is inoperative position.

25 Still another object of my invention is to provide in traveling chuckapparatus of the character referred to, a stop gauge for engagement bythe end of a pipe which is inserted in the chuck apparatus preliminaryto a threading oper- 30 ation, the stop device being automatically movable out of the path of the pipe as it is advanced to a threading dieand being automatically restored to operative position upon withdrawalof the pipe from the threading tool. V 35 Another object of my inventionis to provide a chuck apparatus having a set of chuckjaws for aligning apipe, or the like, and a second set of chuck jaws for holding thev pipeagainst the torque of threading tools, the second-named jaws being sosupported as to permit of their automatic accommodation to the alignedposition of the pipe.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevational view ofthe chuck apparatus and the threading machine; Fig. 2 is a rearelevational view thereof; Fig.3 is an end elevational view of the chuckapparatus; Fig. 4 is a view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 isa view taken on the line V-V of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an enlargedview'looking in the direction of the arrows VIVI of Fig. 2, partly insection; Fig. '1 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of theapparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a view taken on the line VIII--VIII ofFig. 7; Fig. 9 is a view taken on the line IX-IX of Fig.-7; Fig. 10 is aby the threading machine.

the base l0. whereby .are of somewhat similar structure.

view on an enlarged scale taken on the line X-X of Fig. 1; Fig. 11 is aview taken on the line XIXI of Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a plan view, partlyin section, of the carriage for supporting the chuck apparatus; Fig. 13is a view taken on the line )HII-XEH of Fig. 12, and Fig. 14 is a Viewtaken on the line XIV-XIV of Fig. 12.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, I show a threading machine A and chuckapparatus B for moving the pipe into position to have threads cutthereon The threading machine per se does not constitute a part of myinvention, but may be of any various known types and will, therefore, bedescribed here in somewhat general terms.

The threading machine is mounted on a base l0 and comprises a casing orhousing H within which is mounted a spindle l2 secured within asupporting sleeve l3 rotatable in bearings 14 and 15, formed in the endwalls of the casing. The spindle l2 has a flared end I6 to which isbolted a head or holder I8 within which are mounted threading chasers'or dies 18a, commonly termed receding chaser dies, which are radiallymovable toward and from threading position. Amotor I!) (Fig. 1) ismounted on the casing II and drives a shaft 20 on which are mountedpinions 2| and 22 with which gear wheels 23 and 24 can be respectivelybrought into engagement after the manner of ordinary change-speedmechanisms. The gear wheels 23 and 24 are mounted upon a shaft 25 thatalso carries gear wheels 26, which mesh with gear wheels 21 that aremounted on a shaft 28. The shaft 28 carries a pinion' 29 which drives aring gear 3|] that .is'secured to the sleeve l3, which sleeve is in turnkeyed to the spindle I2. The driving connections just described serve torotate the threading head l8.

The chuck apparatus includes a housing 32 .which is mounted upon acarriage 33 that is supportedupon slideways 34 which are carried by thecarriage can be moved toward and from the threading mechanismin a mannerto be hereinafter described.

A pipe-gripping chuck 35 and a pipe-aligning chuck 36 are mounted withinthe casing 32 and The pipealigning chuck 36 includes three jaws 31 whichare movable radially of the chuck body 38, in suitable guideways38a,formed therein, the chuck body 38 being an integral part of the casing32.

The jaws 31 are radially movable by means of screws 39 which havethreaded engagement therewith, and each of which carries a bevel (Fig.11), the Sleeve being cent wall of the casing.

The chuck jaws 31 are moved inwardly and outwardly by a bevel ring gear43 which meshes with the pinions 48. A spur ring gear 44 is rigidlysecured to the bevel ring gear and the ring gears are oscillated by arack bar 45 which meshes with the spur ring gear. It will be seen thatoscillation of the ring gears will effect radial movements of the chuckjaws to engage and release a pipe 46. The ring gears 43 and 44 arerotatably supported upon a hub-like portion of an end plate 41, of thechuck body portion 38 of the casing 32.

The rack bar 45 has pivotal connection with a piston rod 48 whichextends into a cylinder 49 and has a suitable piston, so that when fluidpressure is admitted to the ends of the cylinder alternately, the rackbar will be reciprocated.

Suitable ports 58 and 5! (Fig. 6) are provided bringing the pipe intoaxial alignment with the threading tool l8. Operation of the valve 52 inreverse direction will, of course, effect retractive movement of therack bar 45 and opening of the chuck jaws.

The chuck 35 serves primarily-to rigidly grip and hold the pipe againstturning movement under the torque of the threading dies, and includesjaws 54 which are mounted in the chuck housing 32 in substantially thesame manner as that in which the chuck jaws 31 are mounted in the chuckbody 38. The chuck jaws 54 are operated by a rack bar 56 in the samemanner as the chuck jaws 31 are operated by the rack bar 45. The chuckbody 35 is supported by hanger bolts 63 and springs 64 that are in turnsupported upon bridge plates 65 which are secured to the upper edge ofthe casing 32.

The rack bar 56 is operated from a piston and cylinder 68 which iscontrolled by-a hand-operated 'valve 69 (Figs. 1 and 3) the operationbeing the same as described in connection with the rack bar 45 and thepiston and cylinder construction 49. Fluid pressure for the cylinders at49 and 68 may be generated by a motor 18 and a compressor 1| driventhereby; fiow of fluid from the compressor to the pistons beingcontrolled by the valves 52 and 69, as heretofore explained.

The provision of the aligning chuck 36 is of particular utility becausethe chuck jaws 31 are smooth faced and do not bite into the pipes. as dothe usual holding jaws such as the jaws 54. The peripheries of pipes arenot usually of uniform hardness, and the teeth of the respective holdingjaws 54 will, therefore, not all bite into or indent the pipe to thesame depth. There is consequently a tendency toward slight misalignmentof the pipe by the usual toothed holding jaws, which danger is avoidedwhere smooth faced aligning jaws, such as 31, are employed to preventsuch misalignment.

As heretofore stated, the chuck carriage 33 is mounted upon theslideways 34 for movement toward and from the threading tool.Reciprocation of the carriage is mechanically eflzected by a feed screw13 which advances the carriage rapidly until the front end of the pipeis in position adjacent to the threading tool. A feed screw 14thereafter advances the chuck carriage slowly while the threadingoperation is being performed. The feed screw 14 is journalled at 15 and16 in the lower portion of the housing II and extends to the oppositeend of the base I8, as shown more clearly in Figs. 1, 11 and 12, whereits opposite end is supported in a bearing I1. The feed screw 13 issimilarly supported in bearings 18 and 19, Figs. 10 and 12.

The feed screws are driven from the ring gear 38, through a ring gear 98that is mounted upon the rotating sleeve member I3 and meshes with agear. wheel 8|, the gear wheel 8| being mounted upon a shaft 82 whichissupported in the lower part of the casing II and carries gear wheels83, 84 and 85. The high-speed shaft 13 carries change-speed gear wheels86 and 81 which are selectively shiftable into engagement with the gearwheels 83 and 84 respectively. The preliminary feeding or advancement ofthe pipe to the threading tool may be faster where the pipe is ofrelatively light weight, in which case the gear wheel 85 will be broughtinto engagement with the gear wheel 83. For slower advancing speeds forheavier pipe, the gear wheel 81 will be brought into engagement with thegear wheel 84. The gear wheels 86 and 81 are manually operated byshifting fork 88, from a lever or pedal 89 (Fig. 10).

The slow feed shaft 14 is provided with changespeed gears 98, SI, 92 and93 which are keyed thereto, and which may be selectively engaged bychange-speed pinions'94, 95, 96 and 91 respectively. These pinions areslidably mounted upon a counter-shaft 98 and are shiftable thereon bymeans of shifting forks 99 and I88. The counter-shaft 98 carries a gearwheel I8I which meshes with the gear wheel 85. The changespeed gearsjust referred to are utilized to effect various rates of advancingmovement of the pipe into the threading tool, in accordance with thepitch of thread being cut on the pipe. In other words, if a thread ofvery small pitch is being cut, the pinion 91 will be brought intoengagement with the gear wheel 93, and for larger pitch threads thepinion 94 will be brought into driving engagement with the gear wheel98, etc.

The high-speed feed shaft 13 has two wide pitch helical threadsreversely arranged with respect to one another, one thread beingemployed when advancing the chuck carriage and the other thread beingutilized to effect retractive movement thereof. A cylindrical nut I83has engagement with the advancing thread of the shaft 13 and ispositioned between the clutch or gripping members I84 (Figs. 12 and 13).The nut I83 is held against movement in one axial directionlongitudinally of the carriage by a flange I85 that is formed integrallywith, the nut and engages a thrust bearing I86 that abuts against aplate I81 which is rigidly mounted in the carriage. Movement of the nutI83 in the opposite direction is prevented by reason of its abutmentwith a nut' I88 that is similarly formed and mounted, and engages thereverse thread of the a shaft IIO that has threaded engagement withswivel nuts III (Fig. 13) which are oppositely threaded. When the shaftI I0 is rotated in one direction, the gripping jaws I04 whicirareconnected at their lower ends by a link II2 will be drawn into tightengagement with the nut I03. Turning of the shaft H0 in the oppositedirection will, of course, cause release of the nut. The shaft H0 isjournalled in bearing bushings such as II4, formedv in the carriage 33.A hand lever H5 is secured to one end of the shaft H0.

The shaft IIO, at its other end, has geared connection at II6 with ashaft II! which extends parallel to the shaft H0, and through mechanismsuch as that shown in Fig. 13, controls a clutch, or gripping jaws, IIBfor the nut I08. When the lever H5 is turned in one direction, theclutch members I04 are drawn together, and the clutch members II8released. while when turned in the opposite direction, the clutchmembers I04 will be released and the clutch members II8 caused to engagethe nut I08. In the latter instance, the chuck carriage will beretracted quickly at the completion of a threading operation. The clutchlever II5 has a neutral position, as shown in Fig. '7, wherein theclutches I04 and H8 are both out of gripping engagement with theirrespective nuts.

A divided nut I20 is arranged to be brought into cooperative engagementwith the thread of the slow-feed shaft I4 when the carriage is inadvanced position with the pipe adjacent to the threading tool and theadvancing nut I03 released, (Figs. 12 and 14). Engagement anddisengagement of the nut I20 with the shaft I4 is effected by a screwshaft I2I that has reversely threaded engagement with the respectivehalves of the nut I20. The halves of the nut I20 are mounted upon rodsI22 which are supported in a frame I23 suitably secured within thecarriage 33. The shaft I2I is operated by a hand lever I24.

The lever H5 is provided with a gear sector I25 whose periphery isgrooved rearwardly of its teeth, to form a flange I26 at its rear face,as shown in Figs. 7 and 12. The flange has a slot I2I cut therethroughinto which may enter a flange I28 formed on a segmental extensioncarried by the lever I24, when the parts are in the position shown inFig. 7. As above explained,the lever I I5 in Fig. 7 is shown in itsneutral position with the high speed nuts of the shaft 13 released. Atthis time, the lever I24 can be swung clockwise to bring the slow-feednut I20 into engagement with its shaft I4. The lever H5 is, therefore,locked against movement while the lever I24 is in its operativeposition. On the other hand, when the lever I24 is in its releasedposition, as shown in Fig. ".7, the lever II5 can be turned to effecteither advancing or retractive movements of the chuck carriage. Ineither of these positions, the slot I21 will be out of registry with theflange I28 of the lever I24, and the lever I24 is, therefore, positivelymaintained in its released position.

The rapid advancing movement of the chuck carriage is automaticallylimited by the gear sector I25 operating upon a rack bar I30 which isslidably mounted on the chuck carriage, and which meshes with a rackpinion I3I that in turn engages a slidably mounted rack bar I32 (Figs. 7and -12). When the lever II 5 is turned in a counter-clockwise directionto effect rapid advancemovement of the chuck carriage, the rack bar I30will be shifted rearwardly to rotate the ment of the chuck carriage.

movement of the chuck carriage, the rack bars pinion I3I and push therod I32 to'the left. The shaft of the pinion I3I is provided with acranklike extension or arm I33, which carries a roller I34. By themovement just referred to, the crank I33 is turned in acounter-clockwise direction to the position shown in dotted lines inFig.

As the chuck carriage advances, it carries with it the rack bars I30 andI32. During this adv'ancing movement, the roller I34 will be broughtinto engagement with a camming member I35 which is rigidly mounted uponthe base of the machine. This cam tilts the crank I33 in a clockwisedirection, to effect clockwise rotation of the rack pinion I3I andconsequent shifting of the rack bar I30 to the left, with the resultthat the lever H5 is turned in a clockwise direction a distancesufficient to effect release of the feed nut I03, and thus automaticallybring the carriage to a stop. The lever I24 can then be operated toeffect slow advance movement of the carriage as above described.

At the completion of a threading operation, the lever I24 will be swungto its released position, the threading tools disengaged from the pipe,and the lever II5 then swung to bring the retracting clutch II8 intogripping engagement with the nut I08, to effect rapid retractive move-During retraction I30 and I 32 will be carried rearwardly until a nutI38 on the forward end of the bar I32 engages a stop I39, whereuponcontinued rearward movement of the carriage will cause the pinion I33 torotate on the rack bar I32 and such rotative movement will effectmovement of the rack bar I30 rearwardly, thus rocking the gear seg-,ment I25 to bring the lever II5 to neutral position, and therebyautomatically stopping rearward travel of the carriage.

If desired, the chuck carriage can be manually advanced when the leversI I5 and I24 are in neutral positions, by means of a hand lever I40,that operates a pawl and ratchet mechanism I for rotating a shaft I42(Figs. '7 and 9). The ratchet wheel is loosely mounted on the shaft I42and is'normally held in driving engagement with a clutch disc I43 by aspring I44. The clutch disc I43 is rigidly secured to the shaft, and theshaft carries a pinion I45 that meshes with a gear wheel I46 which ismounted on a shaft I41 that carries a rack pinion I48. The rack pinionI48 meshes with'arack bar I49 that is secured to the under side of oneof the stationary guide rails 34. It willbe seen that when the lever I40is oscillated, the chuck carriage will be gradually advanced'along thetrack slide or guideways 34.

It is. important that the manually operated lever I40 be automaticallydeclutched when the automatic feeding and retracting mechanisms are inoperation. To this end I provide on the rack bar I30 a reduced sectionat I50 which,

when the lever H5 is in neutral position, will lie behind a lever arm I5I which is fastened on a rock shaft I52. The rock shaft carries aclutch fork I53 whose fingers engage the'inner face of a disc I54. Inthe position of the parts shown in rocked to force the clutch fork I53against the wearing disc I56, thereby forcing the ratchet wheel I4I awayfrom the clutch disc M3, against the pressure of the spring I44. Thecarriage will then be moved independently of the hand lever In orderthat a pipe to be threaded can readily be positioned in the chuckcarriage with its forward end projecting a proper distance from thecarriage, I provide a gauge stop I60 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4) that is securedto a rod I6I. At its one end, the rod IIiI is rigidly secured againstendwise movement, but rotatably supported in a bracket I62 that isformed on the casing 32, and at its other end, the rod I6I is slidablysupported in a bracket I63 that is carried by the casing II. The rod I6Icarries an arm I64 which is provided with a cam roller I65 thatcooperates with a cam track I66 of a bracket I61 which is secured to thecasing II. It will be seen that when the lever H5 is moved to causerapid advance movement of the carriage 33, the rod I6I will be movedtherewith, causing the roller I65 to move along the cam track I66 androck the shaft I6I. Rocking of the shaft IBI causes the gauge stop I60to be raised to the position as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 4, inwhich position it will be above the threading head that projectsforwardly from the housing II, so that continued advancing movement ofthe chuck carriage can be eiTected without interference of the gauge I60with the threading devices. During withdrawal movement of the carriage33, after a threading operation, the bar I6I will also be drawn back, sothat the gauge arm I60 will fall in front of the threaded end of thepipe and thus be in position to serve as a positioning stop when anotherpipe is inserted into the chuck apparatus.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with threading die mechanism for pipes and the like,of a chuck carriage, a wide-pitch screw and nut device for moving thecarriage toward and from the die mechanism at a rapid rate, a smallerpitch screw and nut device for advancing the carriage at a slower rate,a rack bar mounted on a stationary support for longitudinal movementthereon, a rack bar carried by and shiftable longitudinally of thecarriage,-said bars being disposed parallel to the path of carriagemovement, a pinion meshing with the rack bars and journalled in the.

carriage, a lever on the carriage movable in opposite directions from aneutral position to selectively effect forward and rearward drivingengagement between the wide-pitch screw device and the carriage, aconnection between said lever and the secondnamed rack bar whereby thebar is shifted longitudinally when the lever is moved and whereby thelever is moved through movement imparted to said bar by the pinion.

means for imparting'rotative movement to the operation of either of saidlevers when the other lever is in operative position.

2. The combination with threading die mechanism for pipes and the like,of a chuck carriage, a wide-pitch screw and nut device for moving thecarriage toward and from the die mechanism at a rapid rate, a smallerpitch screw and nut device for advancing the carriage at a slower rate,a rack bar mounted on a stationary support for longitudinal movementthereon, a rack bar carried by and shiftable longitudinally of thecarriage, said bars being disposed parallel to the path of carriagemovement, a pinion meshing with the rack bars and journalled in thecarriage, a lever on the carriage movable in opposite directions from aneutral position, to selectively effect forward and rearward drivingengagement between the wide-pitch screw device and the-carriage, aconnection between said lever and the second-named rack bar whereby thebar is shifted longitudinally when the lever is moved and whereby thelever is moved through movement imparted to said bar by the pinion,means for imparting rotative movement to the pinion at a predeterminedadvanced position of the carriage, for shifting the lever to neutralposition, a stop device for limiting rearward movement of thefirst-named rack bar whereby the pinion is rotated to effect movement ofthe lever to neutral position at a predetermined point in the rearwardtravel of the carriage, a lever on the carriagemovable to effect drivingengagement between the smaller pitch screw device and the carriage, alever-actuated device for manually advancing the carriage, and means fordisconnecting the last-named lever from the carriage when thefirst-named lever is in operative position.

3. The combination with threading die mechanism for pipes and the like,of a chuck carriage, awide-pitch screw and nut device for moving thecarriage toward and from the die mechanism at a rapid rate, a smallerpitch screw and nut device for advancing the carriage at a slower rate,a rack bar mounted on a stationary support for longitudinal movementthereon, a rack bar carried by and shiftable longitudinally of thecarriage, said bars being disposed parallel to the path of carriagemovement, a pinion meshing with the rack bars and journalled in thecarriage, a lever on the carriage movable in opposite directions from aneutral position, to selectively eflect forward and rearward drivingengagement between the wide-pitch screw device and the carriage, aconnection between said lever and the second-named rack bar whereby thebar is shifted longitudinally when the lever is moved and whereby thelever is moved through movement imparted to said bar by the pinion,means for imparting rotative movement to the pinion at a predeterminedadvanced position of the-carriage; for shifting the lever to neutralposition, a stop device for limiting rearward movement of thefirst-named rack bar whereby the pinionis rotated to effect movement ofthe lever to neutral position at a predetermined point in the rearwardtravel of the carriage, a lever on the carriage movable to effectdriving engagement between the smaller pitch screw device and thecarriage, a lever-actuated device for manually advancing the carriage,means for preventing operation of the second-named lever when thefirstnamed lever is in operative position, and means for disconnectingthe said lever-actuated device from the carriage when the first-namedlever is in operative position.

4. The combination with thread die mechanisms for pipes and the like, ofa chuck carriage, a wide-pitch screw and nut device for moving thecarriage toward and from the die mechanism at a rapid rate, means foradvancing the carriage at a slower rate, a rack bar mounted on astationary support for longitudinal movement thereon, a rack bar carriedby and shiftable longitudinally of the carriage, said bars beingdisposed parallel to the path of carriage movement, a pinion meshingwith the rack bars and journalled in the carriage, a lever onthecarriage movable in opposite directions from a neutral position, toselectively effect forward and rearward driving engagement between thewide-pitch screw device and the carriage, a connection between saidlever and the second-named rack bar whereby the bar is shiftedlongitudinally when the lever is moved and whereby the lever is movedthrough movement imparted to said bar by the pinion, means for impartingrotative movement to the pinion at a predetermined advanced position ofthe carriage, for shifting the lever to neutral position, a stop devicefor limiting rearward movement of the firstnamed rack bar whereby thepinion is rotated to effect movement of the lever to neutral position ata predetermined point in the rearward travel of the carriage; alever-actuated device for manually advancing the carriage, and means fordisconnecting the said lever-actuated device from the carriage when thefirst-named lever is in operative position.

EDWARD J. PROTIN.

